I've done some biking, but not 70 miles worth in a day. From what I read, it's 60% roads, 36-38% trail, and another 2-4% of craters, potholes, rivers, and stuff. Registration doesn't open for another 10 weeks, so i have some time to think about it.

Got bumped on a page change. Has anybody ever done this or similar distance?

CERV96 wrote:Starting a 28 day intense weight loss program Monday after thanksgiving. I did half of the program 3 or 4 years ago and it worked. Went from 350 to 240 in about 2-3 months. It took longer due to me only doing half of the workouts but stayed with the eating program cause obviously @ 350 pounds I was in no condition to do the full.

I'm very wary of including protein shakes when trying to lose weight and not to build muscle. I drink a shake after a weight lifting workout and an hour later I'm starving. In general that's OK for me as I'm pretty active and a hard gainer. For someone looking to lose weight that could be trouble especially if it doesn't keep you full for long like me.

I use muscle milk light. Plus a small teaspoon of peanutbutter can go a long way every once in a while. To me the toughest week is the first week due to getting in the routine on the meals. Last week can be rough as well with the hour in the AM and an hour in the PM. I am starting Monday and finishing up Christmas eve so I can still enjoy the holidays. I will post my results on the 24th from where I started and where I finished.

Stay strong through the holiday season, all. Remember how hard it is to lose 5 lbs in the gym and how easy it is to gain 10 lbs between now and the end of the year by simply looking at all the feasts, snacks, alcohol, etc. Don't spend next year working off all of the extra calories. Continue to build upon your current success instead.

I tried a variation of HIIT on the treadmill for the first time yesterday. I usually always do a 0.5% incline, because it comes the closest to matching your average outside time with wind resistance. I aimed for a 5k, alternating between 6.3 and 7.7 or so. Ended up getting to the 3.1 mile mark in 26:45, which is a personal best. I think I like that strategy. I was honestly surprised how long I can run at a relatively fast speed.

Since I plateaued I'm beginning a new diet and exercise regiment tomorrow. 4 days of high intensity cardio and 2 SoldierFit classes per week. Every 6 weeks I take a 3 day rest. After 6 cycles I go to 7 days a week for a month then 7 days off. Goal is to be under 10% BF and under 230lbs in a year. This is going to be both awesome and terrifying at the same time.

CERV96 wrote:Week 1 complete. I lost 14 pounds and 4% body fat in one week. Three more weeks to go.

WOO!! Heck yeah dude! 4% in one week? Wow! If you don't mind me asking what was your starting BF%? What was used to measure?

My starting was 32% and I lost 4% in my first week too. When you're as big as I am/was it comes off easy at first.

In the same boat as being big.

Believe it or not mine was the same lol. I started at 269 and 32%. Now 255 and 28%. I use a scale at my gym. You plug in your height, activity level, and age. You also have to use your bare feet as well. I highly doubt it is 100% accurate but I am guessing it gives you some kind of idea.

To avoid muscle memory issues, how frequently should you change up your workout routine? And any good suggestions on going about that?

What I do know is switch from high weight/low reps to high reps every couple weeks...but it's pretty easy to switch the weight up, is there a good way to switch up the cardio to get more benefit in the same amount of time?

Troy Loney wrote:To avoid muscle memory issues, how frequently should you change up your workout routine? And any good suggestions on going about that?

What I do know is switch from high weight/low reps to high reps every couple weeks...but it's pretty easy to switch the weight up, is there a good way to switch up the cardio to get more benefit in the same amount of time?

CERV96 wrote:Week 1 complete. I lost 14 pounds and 4% body fat in one week. Three more weeks to go.

WOO!! Heck yeah dude! 4% in one week? Wow! If you don't mind me asking what was your starting BF%? What was used to measure?

My starting was 32% and I lost 4% in my first week too. When you're as big as I am/was it comes off easy at first.

In the same boat as being big.

Believe it or not mine was the same lol. I started at 269 and 32%. Now 255 and 28%. I use a scale at my gym. You plug in your height, activity level, and age. You also have to use your bare feet as well. I highly doubt it is 100% accurate but I am guessing it gives you some kind of idea.

The most effective way to track your progress is with a scale and measuring tape. Measure the widest part of your waist every day or two and use that as your metric of progress. The easiest one to use is MyoTape and you can get it for a couple dollars on amazon.

I was biking one day a week, swimming once and doing the eliptical after lifting.

yubb wrote:With weights I switch up my routine when I stop seeing gains. Usually every few months.

With cardio you can mix up distance running with sprints. You can do distance running for a few weeks, then throw in springs for a while. Or you can do both during the same run.

I don't run much because it's become painful for me. I can still do it, but I'm making a long term investment to avoid future feet, knee and hip issues by taking distance running out of my routing.

The routine i've kind of settled into the last 3 or 4 weeks has been:

day one: lifting with running intervals. I'll do a chest/back/leg circut set, then run. Do that four times. Start with heavy weight on the big muscles and then move to things like stuff on the balance ball and that czech guy's dumbell routine. (i'm only doing the big muscles - chest/back/legs)

day two: Abdomonel core, doing a lot of resistance things that work the abs, lower back and sides. Then do 30-40 minutes on the eliptical.

day three: 45 - 60 minutes of cardio. either swimming or eliptical.

day off. then repeat the days. My question is, if I just switch between heavy and light with the weights and swimming/eliptical on the cardio, is that enough to avoid muscle memory issues?

Going from low weight/hi rep to higher weight/lower rep will certainly help. However, changing the exercises would be a good idea as well. So if you're doing bench press, try switching to a dumb bell press. Or do incline presses instead of flat. Or go to a machine bench press or even a bunch of push ups.

For the cardio, I think swimming would have to be killer. I don't do that in my training, but I know it tires you out so that has to be outstanding. Since you can't do a ton of running you're kind of handcuffed. You may need a little more variance in your cardio. Can you do sports? Racquetball, basketball, hockey? Ice hockey is surprisingly easy on the joints. A day a week of hockey or basketball will do more for you than an hour on the elliptical.

I have to pass a.PFT sometime in January to remain employed at SoldierFit. 16 minute 2 mile, 46 pushups in 2 min, 75 sit ups In 2 min, 12 pull ups. The only thing I don't think I'll be able to do in 30-45 days are the pull ups. Starting Interval run training Thursday.